000 01556 a2200253 4500
001 0367717174
005 20250317100416.0
008 250312042021GB eng
020 _a9780367717179
037 _bTaylor & Francis
_cGBP 36.99
_fBB
040 _a01
041 _aeng
072 7 _aJHM
_2thema
072 7 _aJHM
_2bic
072 7 _aSOC002000
_2bisac
072 7 _aSOC042000
_2bisac
072 7 _a302.35
_2bisac
100 1 _aMichael Herzfeld
245 1 0 _aSocial Production of Indifference
_bExploring the Symbolic Roots of Western Bureaucracy
250 _a1
260 _aOxford
_bRoutledge
_c20210331
300 _a220 p
520 _bIn this fascinating book, Michael Herzfeld argues that 'modern' bureaucratically regulated societies are no more 'rational' or less 'symbolic' than the societies traditionally studied by anthropologists. Drawing primarily on the example of modern Greece and utilizing other European materials, he suggests that we cannot understand national bureaucracies divorced from local-level ideas about chance, personal character, social relationships and responsibility. He points out that both formal regulations and day-to-day bureaucratic practices rely heavily on the symbols and language of the moral boundaries between insiders and outsiders; a ready means of expressing prejudice and of justifying neglect. It therefore happens that societies with proud traditions of generous hospitality may paradoxically produce at the official level some of the most calculated indifference one can find anywhere.
999 _c2929
_d2929